Steel leaders

[VAN]

Please help,
With the fall action among us that means blue fish and teeth.
I gave the Orvis twist type bite guard a shot and I got cut off and never felt the strike! So I'm gun shy there.
I bought a 13lb. test wire by - American Fishing Wire - the "Surflon-microSupreme" but have yet to try it.
What has worked best for you guys. You know there can be some BIG blues come in this time of the year and I need a leader I can count on.
Any help sure is welcolme.
Thanks,
Van

[stevec]

Van
I have used and still am using American fishing wire...the same one you mentioned. It works ok. I have been using Fig-8 knots to the fly. Loop to tippet.
This was the easiest wire for me to handle so I will stick with it through the season.
I also use 50lb fluro as a shock tippet. Three snapper-blues couldn't go through it but its a bitch to knot up.

[VAN]

50 lb. fluro. shock tippet. Is that your whole leader or an extention of the leader just above the tippet? I've heard the term shock tippet but an not sure what you mean.
In the past I've found making a loop knot and connection works real well with the flurocarbon material.
Thanks,
Van

[stevec]

I put that on directly to the leader. I believe shock tippets are used to take the "shock" of a big daddy hit. I have heard they act like rubber bands. I should of said the 50# fluro is a bite tippet. Sorry, my mistake. The 50# fluro held off 3 4-pounders. I am new to fly-fishing so I experiment a lot with various leaders and stuff. The wire and the fluro work for me.
Loop knots work great with fluro but 50# fluro is pretty heavy. I like the figure -8 knot for the wire.

[ANeary]

I'm using the same wire and just loop it onto my leader 20lbs and use a clinch knot to the fly. I use 3 wraps on the clinch knot. Haven't had a problem yet but have only caught blues up to 5lbs with the wire on so far.

[FLYRODER]

I never use wire. Why? Because sometimes swimming under the school of bluefish are stripers sometimes big stripers. And if you use wire you won't have a shot at catching any of these stripers. Even though I might lose a few flies to the bluefish if there are any stripers under them I will hook a few.

[ANeary]

Flyrodder, Thats not always true. I was working a blitz of small bluefish Sunday and caught a nice striper about 25 inches. I had the same wire on. I have done this a couple times.

[stevec]

The notion that stripers and wire don't mix can't be 100% true. I caught a 20" schoolie with wire. However, my thinking is based on hungry teenager. Maybe I gave him the education needed to avoid feathery things attached to black stringy stuff!!

[VAN]

That's true - they have to learn somewhere.
Just think how many different rigs the big girls have seen over the years cruising up and down the coast.

[joshr]

Bass will certainly hit wire, especially when they are blitzing/boiling. But I still never use wire b/c I find it unnecessary and a pain to deal with and, when not in a blitz situation, likely to spook bass and certainly albies. I generally use 30 lb Fluoro (about 12-18"...long enough to keep the knot a little bit away from the fly). Albies will hit that so it's very versatile, and it's easy to tie with. You definitely have to retie a lot if there are a lot of blues in the mix, but at least you have good shots at all species. If the bluefish around are large, I'll go with 40 lb fluoro sometimes.

--JHR